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Jan 19, 2012
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Jan 19, 2012
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Still from video of Jan 19, 2012 long duration solar flare and coronal mass ejection (CME) which is expect to reach Earth on Jan 21, 2012. Credit: NASA/SDO › Link to associated news item
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Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/011912-flare.html
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Jan 19, 2012
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Jan 19, 2012
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A "sun grazing" comet as caught by Solar and Heliospheric Observatory's (SOHO) Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) C2 camera as it dived toward the sun on July 5 and July 6. SOHO is the overwhelming leader in spotting sungrazers, with over 2000 spotted to date, aided by the fact that the sun's bright light is itself blocked out by the coronograph. The SOHO LASCO C2 camera images the inner solar corona up to 8.4 million kilometers (5.25 million miles) away from the Sun....
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/comet-streaks-sun.html
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Jan 4, 2012
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Jan 4, 2012
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In early December, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory's (SOHO) online "Pick of the Week" reached an impressive milestone: its 500th edition. This is an incredibly popular feature, which highlights one video or image of the sun each week. Featured here are solar images taken from November 22-28, 2011. The Sun produced about a dozen coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in eight days and it did seem like it was working overtime. The SOHO C2 coronagraph shows the storms (both large and...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/soho/soho-potw-500.html
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Jan 4, 2012
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Jan 4, 2012
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At approximately the same time as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) launch on November 26, 2011, a solar explosion hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth and the Red Planet, as seen in this image captured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Credit: SOHO › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/20111126-cme.html
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Jan 4, 2012
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Jan 4, 2012
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This image from the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) taken the morning of Dec. 16, 2011 shows the comet head emerging from the right side of the sun. The comet does seem to have left its tail behind, however –that's the nearly vertical streak that remains on the left side of the sun. The comet's survival surprised NASA scientists. Credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/lovejoy-soho-121611.html
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Jan 4, 2012
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Jan 4, 2012
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Still from video: Comet Lovejoy blazes toward the sun and its tail wiggles as it interacts with the solar wind. By the end of the day on December 15, 2011, the comet will graze some some 75,000 miles above the sun's surface through the several million degree solar corona, and quite likely evaporate. The movie was recorded by STEREO using the Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI) instrument. Credit: NASA/STEREO/NRL › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/lovejoy-stereo-approach.html
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Jan 4, 2012
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Jan 4, 2012
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Still from video: Comet Lovejoy blazes toward the sun and its tail wiggles as it interacts with the solar wind as seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which adjusted its cameras in order to watch the trajectory. Not only does this help with comet research—such as how big the comet is and what it's made of -- but it may also help orient instruments on SDO. Since the scientists know where the comet is based on other spacecraft, they can finely determine the position of SDO's mirrors....
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/lovejoy-sdo-approach.html
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Jan 4, 2012
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Jan 4, 2012
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A cut-away illustration of Earth's interior. At the heart of our planet lies a solid iron ball, about as hot as the surface of the sun. Researchers call it "the inner core", which is 70% as wide as the moon. It spins at its own rate, as much as 0.2o of longitude per year faster than the Earth layers above it. Surrounding the iron ball is an ocean of liquid iron known as "the outer core." This inner and outer core duo is referred to as Earth's geodynamo. Surrounding the core...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/earths-dynamiccore.html
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Jan 4, 2012
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Jan 4, 2012
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At approximately the same time as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) launch on November 26, 2011, shown here on the right, a solar explosion hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth and the Red Planet, as seen in the image on the left captured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Credit: SOHO
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/cme-msl-launch.html
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Jan 4, 2012
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Jan 4, 2012
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Still from video: Comet Lovejoy is seen here exiting from behind the right side of the sun, after an hour of travel through its closest approach to the sun. By tracking how the comet interacts with the sun's atmosphere, the corona, and how material from the tail moves along the sun's magnetic field lines, solar scientists hope to learn more about the corona. The movie was filmed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in 171 Angstrom wavelength, which is typically shown in yellow. Credit:...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/lovejoy-survives-sdo.html
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Dec 22, 2011
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Dec 22, 2011
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ISS030-E-014379 (21 Dec. 2011) --- Comet Lovejoy is visible near Earth’s horizon in this nighttime image photographed by NASA astronaut Dan Burbank, Expedition 30 commander, onboard the International Space Station on Dec. 21, 2011.
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/gallery/iss030e014379.html
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1.6K
Dec 5, 2011
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Dec 5, 2011
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Schematic illustration of the invisible magnetic field lines generated by the Earth, represented as a dipole magnet field. In actuality, our magnetic shield is squeezed in closer to Earth on the Sun-facing side and extremely elongated on the night-side due to the solar wind. Earth's polarity is not a constant. Unlike a classic bar magnet, the matter governing Earth's magnetic field moves around. Geophysicists are pretty sure that the reason Earth has a magnetic field is because its solid iron...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/Earths-magneticfieldlines-dipole.html
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Nov 4, 2011
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Nov 4, 2011
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The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of the X1.9 class solar flare from November 3, 2011. Credit: NASA/SDO › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/20111103-x1.9.html
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Sep 26, 2011
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Sep 26, 2011
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The sun let loose with at least six coronal mass ejections (CMEs) -- solar phenomena that can send solar particles into space and affect electronic systems in satellites -- from 7 PM ET on September 18, 2011 until 1 PM on September 19. The ejections appear to come from points scattered over the surface of the sun. Two CME's dissipated quickly, but four continue to spread outward from the sun. NASA models suggest that the leading edge of one CME will pass by Earth at around 5 PM ET on Sep 21, at...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/20110920-6cmes.html
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Sep 22, 2011
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Sep 22, 2011
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An X1.4 class flare erupted from the sun, peaking at 7:01 AM ET on September 22. The flare came from sunspot N15E88, which is just moving into view as the sun rotates. This flare has caused elevated proton levels on the East (left) side of the sun. Associated with this flare, there was a significant CME that began around 7:24 AM ET. The image taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, is shown in multiple wavelengths of light simultaneously (211, 193, 171 angstrom). The different wavelength...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/20110922-x1.4flare.html
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Aug 9, 2011
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Aug 9, 2011
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An x-class flare began at 3:48 AM EDT on August 9, 2011 and peaked at 4:05 AM. The flare burst from sun spot region AR11263, before it rotated out of view. The image here was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in extreme ultraviolet light at 131 Angstroms. This image is from the beginning of the event just before the satellite sensors were overwhelmed by energetic particles. Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/20110809-x7Flare.html
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Aug 8, 2011
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Aug 8, 2011
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A widespread display of auroras erupted late Friday and into Saturday, August 5 and 6, when the August 3, 2011 double-CME hit Earth's magnetic field and sparked a G4-category geomagnetic storm. Auroras were visible in the continental U.S. in Utah, Nebraska and Colorado and in Europe as far south as England, Germany and Poland. This image was taken by Scott Lowther in Thatcher, Utah on August 6, 2011. "The auroras were just barely visible to the naked eye here in Utah as a pink glowing dome...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/dbl-punch-aurora.html
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Aug 1, 2011
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Aug 1, 2011
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An active region, observed in extreme ultraviolet light (193 angstrom) by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, burst out with a short-lived M9.3 flare. The flare originated from active region 1261 and began at about 10:02 p.m. EDT and ended around 10:12 p.m. EDT on July 29, 2011. Because the location of the eruption and its sunspot at that time, the associated high-energy particles went wide of Earth and had little terrestrial effects. The region that unleashed the flare has now rotated to be...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/news072911-m9flare.html
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Jul 25, 2011
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Jul 25, 2011
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July 21, 2011: Space shuttle Atlantis landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, wrapping up the final mission of NASA's space shuttle program. At 08:27:48 UT, just 21 minutes before the deorbit burn, astrophotographer Thierry Legault captured what might be the last picture of Atlantis in space--and it was a solar transit. › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/20110721-atlantis-transit-zoom.html
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Jul 25, 2011
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Jul 25, 2011
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July 21, 2011: Space shuttle Atlantis landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, wrapping up the final mission of NASA's space shuttle program. At 08:27:48 UT, just 21 minutes before the deorbit burn, astrophotographer Thierry Legault captured what might be the last picture of Atlantis in space--and it was a solar transit. › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/20110721-atlantis-transit.html
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Jul 19, 2011
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Jul 19, 2011
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SOHO/LASCO C2 image of the spectacular June 7, 2011 coronal mass ejection (CME). This image was taken by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) C2 coronograph which images the corona from about 1.5 to 6 solar radii. Credit: NASA/SOHO › Link to related news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/20110607-sohoC2.html
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Jun 9, 2011
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Jun 9, 2011
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Artist's rendition of one of the two identical Voyager Spacecraft in space. Credit: NASA
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/mission_voyager.html
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Mar 25, 2011
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Mar 25, 2011
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Eleven years in the life of the Sun, spanning most of solar cycle 23, as it progressed from solar minimum to maximum conditions and back to minimum (upper right) again, seen as a collage of ten full-disk images of the lower corona. Of note is the prevalence of activity and the relatively few years when our Sun might be described as “quiet.” Credit: NASA
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/solarcycle23.html
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Mar 25, 2011
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Mar 25, 2011
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A sunspot prediction for solar cycle 24. Planning for satellite orbits and space missions often require knowledge of solar activity levels years in advance. Current prediction for the next sunspot cycle maximum gives a smoothed sunspot number maximum of about 58 in July of 2013. As of March 2011, we are over two years into Cycle 24. The predicted size would make this the smallest sunspot cycle in nearly 200 years. Credit: NASA/MSFC/Hathaway
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/sunspot-prediction-cycle24.html
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Mar 25, 2011
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Mar 25, 2011
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Technological infrastructure affected by space weather events include satellites, aircraft, and power grids. A web of inter-dependencies makes the modern economy especially sensitive to solar storms. This is why advancing the understanding of the causes of space weather and improving its forecasting are critical goals. Credit: NASA
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/Tech-affects.html
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Mar 25, 2011
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Mar 25, 2011
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This model is an indication of the complexity of the ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere (ITM) system of planet Earth and the range of physical processes operating. Credit: NASA/J. Grobowsky
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/itm-processes.html
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Mar 25, 2011
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Mar 25, 2011
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A solar prominence (also known as a filament when viewed against the solar disk) is a large, bright feature extending outward from the Sun's surface. Prominences are anchored to the Sun's surface in the photosphere, and extend outwards into the Sun's hot outer atmosphere, called the corona. A prominence forms over timescales of about a day, and stable prominences may persist in the corona for several months, looping hundreds of thousands of miles into space. Scientists are still researching how...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/solar-prominence.html
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Mar 17, 2011
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Mar 17, 2011
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Graphic of proposed IRIS spacecraft. The IRIS instrument is a multi-channel imaging spectrograph with a 20 cm UV telescope. IRIS will obtain spectra along a slit (1/3 arcsec wide), and slit-jaw images. Credit: NASA
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/mission_iris.html
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Feb 28, 2011
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Feb 28, 2011
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The still image of the large X2 flare seen by Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in extreme ultraviolet light on February 15, 2011, enlarged and superimposed on an image of SOHO's C2 coronagraph for the same period. › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/20110214-xflare.html
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Feb 21, 2011
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Feb 21, 2011
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On January 4, the Hinode satellite captured these breathtaking images of an annular solar eclipse. An annular eclipse occurs when the moon, slightly more distant from Earth than on average, moves directly between Earth and the sun, thus appearing slightly smaller to observers' eyes; the effect is a bright ring, or annulus of sunlight, around the silhouette of the moon. Hinode, a Japanese mission in partnership with NASA, NAOJ, STFC, ESA, and NSC, currently in Earth orbit, is studying the Sun to...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/010611hinode.html
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Feb 21, 2011
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Feb 21, 2011
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This cutaway model shows a red “shelf” layer of a Kuiper Belt object peeking through the thin, darkened crust above so that the object appears red in telescopes. Credit: NASA/Conceptual Image Lab/Tyler Chase › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/102710kuiper-labeled.html
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Feb 21, 2011
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Feb 21, 2011
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A very long solar filament that had been snaking around the Sun erupted Dec. 6, 2010 with a flourish. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) caught the action in dramatic detail in extreme ultraviolet light of Helium. It had been almost a million km long ((about half a solar radius) and a prominent feature on the Sun visible over two weeks ago before it rotated out of view. Filaments are elongated clouds of cooler gases suspended above the Sun by magnetic forces. They are rather unstable and...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/120610filament.html
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Feb 21, 2011
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Feb 21, 2011
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NASA's STEREO spacecraft watched as an eruptive prominence rose up and arched out in a horseshoe shape far above the Sun's surface (Aug. 25, 2010). The image shows the action in an extreme UV wavelength as an eruptive prominence churns, then rises up, arches out, and finally breaks apart and dissipates above the solar surface. Prominences are clouds of relatively cool gases suspended in the Sun's hot corona by magnetic fields that sometimes break loose to create these dramatic eruptions. This...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/082710prominence.html
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Feb 21, 2011
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Feb 21, 2011
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This aurora over Valkeakoski, Finland on September 15, 2000 resulted from the September 12 coronal mass ejection featured in the video above. Credit: Tom Eklund › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/111810explosions.html
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Feb 21, 2011
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Feb 21, 2011
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SOHO's 2000th comet, spotted by a Polish amateur astronomer on December 26, 2010. Credit: SOHO/Karl Battams › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/122810comet.html
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Feb 21, 2011
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Feb 21, 2011
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SDO catches the action when the sun sends out a double shot. Credit: NASA/SDO › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/012811double.html
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Feb 21, 2011
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Feb 21, 2011
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This Solar Dynamics Observatory image of the Sun taken on January 10 in extreme ultraviolet light captures a dark coronal hole just about at sun center. Coronal holes are areas of the Sun's surface that are the source of open magnetic field lines that head way out into space. They are also the source regions of the fast solar wind, which is characterized by a relatively steady speed of approximately 800 km/s (about 1.8 million mph). As the sun continues to rotate, the high speed solar wind...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/011111holes.html
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Feb 21, 2011
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Feb 21, 2011
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An artist's rendition of the five THEMIS space spacecrafts traveling through the magnetic field lines around Earth. Credit: NASA › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/013111speedy.html
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Jan 24, 2011
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Jan 24, 2011
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Artist rendition of FASTSat spacecraft
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/mission_fastsat.html
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Jan 24, 2011
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Jan 24, 2011
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An artist's concept of the ARTEMIS spacecraft in orbit around the Moon. Credit: NASA
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/mission_artemis.html
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Jan 24, 2011
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Jan 24, 2011
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Artist rendition of MMS spacecraft.
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/mission_mms.html
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Jan 24, 2011
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Jan 24, 2011
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Artist rendition of IBEX spacecraft.
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/mission_ibex.html
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Jan 24, 2011
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Jan 24, 2011
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Artist rendition of SDO spacecraft.
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/mission_sdo.html
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Jan 24, 2011
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Jan 24, 2011
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Artist rendition of RBSP spacecraft.
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/mission_rbsp.html
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Jan 24, 2011
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Jan 24, 2011
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Artist rendition of SPP spacecraft.
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/mission_spp.html
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Jan 24, 2011
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Jan 24, 2011
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Artist rendition of STEREO spacecraft.
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/mission_stereo.html
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1.4K
Dec 16, 2010
12/10
Dec 16, 2010
by
NASA
image
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Over 100 meteors are recorded in this composite image taken during the peak of the Geminid meteor shower, Dec 13 -14, using an all-sky camera operated by the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. A fish-eye view of the surrounding nighttime landscape at the Automated Lunar and Meteor Observatory can also be seen. Credit: NASA/MSFC/Danielle Moser, NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office
Topic: Where -- Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/506311main_20101214_MAXstack_03_full.jpg
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Sep 29, 2010
09/10
Sep 29, 2010
by
NASA
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A pale green interloper among the stars of Cassiopeia, Comet Hartley 2 shines in this four-minute exposure taken on the night of Sept. 28, 2010, by NASA astronomer Bill Cooke. Still too faint to be seen with the unaided eye, the comet was 18 million miles away from Earth at the time. Cooke took this image using a telescope located near Mayhill, N.M., which he controlled via the Internet from his home computer in Huntsville, Ala. Comet-watching from the comfort of your living room? Modern...
Topics: What -- Cassiopeia, What -- Earth, What -- Sun, What -- Dawn
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/484976main_hartley2_sept2010_full.jpg
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Aug 12, 2010
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Aug 12, 2010
by
NASA
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The 2010 Perseid meteor shower is lighting up the August skies. This image shows two composite views taken on the night of Aug. 11, 2010. The image on the left shows a collection of observations taken from 42 single station events over Huntsville, Ala. The image on the right shows a composite view from 39 single station events over Chickamauga, Ga. Image credit: NASA/MSFC/D. Moser, NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/475179main_composite_perseids_full.jpg
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Aug 9, 2010
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Aug 9, 2010
by
NASA
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The 2010 Perseid meteor shower is fully underway! This composite image shows the same Perseid meteor streaking over Lake Erie, seen from six different observing stations. The University of Western Ontario operates a network of eight all-sky cameras, and on the evening of Aug. 8, 2010, six of the stations recorded separate views of the same Perseid meteor. At approximately 9:59 p.m. EDT, this confirmed Perseid meteor was first detected at an altitude of 75 miles over Lake Erie, near the city of...
Topic: Where -- Ohio
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/474118main_composite_colorized_full.jpg
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Jul 20, 2010
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Jul 20, 2010
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Diagram of the layers within Earth's atmosphere. Troposphere The troposphere starts at the Earth's surface and extends 8 to 14.5 kilometers high (5 to 9 miles). This part of the atmosphere is the most dense. Almost all weather is in this region. Stratosphere The stratosphere starts just above the troposphere and extends to 50 kilometers (31 miles) high. The ozone layer, which absorbs and scatters the solar ultraviolet radiation, is in this layer. Mesosphere The mesosphere starts just above the...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/atmosphere-layers2.html
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Jul 19, 2010
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Jul 19, 2010
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Artist concept of the Sun's Layers. Credit: NASA
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/Sunlayers-unlabeled.html
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Jul 19, 2010
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Jul 19, 2010
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A magnetosphere is that area of space, around a planet, that is controlled by the planet's magnetic field. The shape of the Earth's magnetosphere is the direct result of being blasted by solar wind. The solar wind compresses its sunward side to a distance of only 6 to 10 times the radius of the Earth. A supersonic shock wave is created sunward of Earth called the Bow Shock. Most of the solar wind particles are heated and slowed at the bow shock and detour around the Earth in the Magnetosheath....
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/magnetosphere2.html
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Jun 16, 2010
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Jun 16, 2010
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The sun and its atmosphere consist of several zones or layers. From the inside out, the solar interior consists of the core, the radiative zone, and the convection zone. The solar atmosphere is made up of the photosphere, the chromosphere, a transition region, and the corona. Beyond the corona is the solar wind, which is actually an outward flow of coronal gas. The sun's magnetic fields rise through the convection zone and erupt through the photosphere into the chromosphere and corona. The...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/Sunlayers.html
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Jun 16, 2010
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Jun 16, 2010
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This is an artist's concept of our Heliosphere as it travels through our galaxy with the major features labeled. Termination Shock: Blowing outward billions of kilometers from the Sun is the solar wind, a thin stream of electrically charged gas. This wind travels at an average speed ranging from 300 to 700 kilometers per second (700,000 - 1,500,000 miles per hour) until it reaches the termination shock. At this point, the speed of the solar wind drops abruptly as it begins to feel the effects...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/Heliosphere.html
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Jan 7, 2008
01/08
Jan 7, 2008
by
NASA
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Where do meteor showers originate? To help answer this question, astronomers studied his past weekend's Quadrantid meteor shower. In particular, astronomers with specialized cameras flew as part of the Quadrantid's Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign (MAC) aboard a NASA DC-8 aircraft above northern Canada and studied the meteor shower in unprecedented detail. Pictured above is a composite image combining many short exposures. Visible in the image are the tail of the airplane reflecting a red...
Topics: What -- Beacon, Where -- Canada
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/207651main_quadrantids_vaubaillon_big_full.jpg
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Nov 19, 2007
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NASA
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The crew of STS-85 used a 35mm camera with a time exposure to record this image of the southern lights or Aurora Australis. The vertical stabilizer of the Space Shuttle Discovery appears in the foreground. Image credit: NASA
Topics: What -- STS-85, What -- Space Shuttle Orbiter
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/171269main_image_feature_776_ys_full.jpg
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The interior of a crater surrounding the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum on Mars can be seen in this color image from the rover's panoramic camera. This is the darkest landing site ever visited by a spacecraft on Mars. The rim of the crater is approximately 10 meters (32 feet) from the rover. The crater is estimated to be 20 meters (65 feet) in diameter. Scientists are intrigued by the abundance of rock outcrops dispersed throughout the crater, as well as the crater's...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Crater, What -- Mars...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1123
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On January 3, Spirit, NASA's 400-pound rover, is scheduled to land on what may be a dried-up lake bed on Mars. "There's not much doubt: this site contained a body of liquid water, at least for some amount of time," says Jim Garvin, NASA's Lead Scientist for Mars Exploration. The site is Gusev Crater, a 90-mile wide hole in the ground that probably formed three to four billion years ago when an asteroid crashed just south of Mars' equator. There's a channel system that drains into it,...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Spirit, What -- Mars, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=603
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NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has obtained the clearest pictures ever of our solar system's most distant and enigmatic object: the planet Pluto. The observations were made with the European Space Agency's Faint Object Camera. *Image Credit*: NASA and ESA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Hubble Space Telescope (HST),...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1850
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The Mars 96 orbiter is assembled and ready for launch. *Image Credit*: DLR Institute of Planetary Exploration
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars 96 Orbiter
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2584
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Scientists used this faint, fuzzy image to pinpoint one of three new Neptunian moons more than 4 billion km (2.8 billion miles) from the Sun. This is S/2002 N1 as seen by the 4-meter Blanco telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Sun, What -- Neptune, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=137
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An artist's concept of Galileo passing near Jupiter's small inner moon Amalthea. Galileo flew past the tiny moon in November 2002. *Image Credit*: Michael Carroll and NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Galileo, What -- Moon
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1964
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An artist's impression of the Stardust sample capsule drifting to Earth. For more images related to this mission, visit the Stardust Photo Gallery. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Stardust, What -- Earth
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=510
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These color maps of Jupiter were constructed from images taken by the narrow-angle camera onboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Dec. 11 and 12, 2000, as the spacecraft neared Jupiter during its flyby of the giant planet. Cassini was on its way to Saturn. They are the most detailed global color maps of Jupiter ever produced; the smallest visible features are about 120 kilometers (75 miles) across. The maps are composed of 36 images: a pair of images covering Jupiter's northern and southern...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Jupiter, What -- Cassini,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=4383
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View of the Northern limb region on Ganymede showing the Galileo Regio region. North is to the bottom of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from the left. The finest details that can be discerned in this picture are about 6.7 km across. The time is 8:45:09 UT on June 26, 1996. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Ganymede, What -- Galileo,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2286
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Magellan image of a nova, a radial network of grabens, in Themis Regio, Venus. There have been about 50 novae identified on Venus, which consist of closely spaced graben radiating from a central area. This nova is about 250 km in diameter, concentrated to the south. (North is up.) (Magellan C1-MIDR 30S279;1,framelet 18) *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Magellan, What -- NOVA I,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2031
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The South Pole-Aitken Basin is a prominent lunar feature in many respects. In addition to being the principal shaper of topography (top right) of the farside of the Moon, the basin floor is the primary compositional anomaly of the farside and the highlands of the Moon. The albedo map (top left) shows that the floor of the basin is markedly darker than the highlands surrounding it. Both iron (bottom left) and titanium (bottom right) concentration maps show enhanced values associated with the...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Moon, What -- Clementine
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=803
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Sunset on Mars catches NASA's proposed Mars Science Laboratory in the foreground in this artist's concept. The mission is under development for launch in 2009 and a precision landing on Mars in 2010. Once on the ground, the Mars Science Laboratory would analyze dozens of samples scooped up from the soil and cored from rocks as it explores with greater range than any previous Mars rover. It would investigate the past or present ability of Mars to support life. NASA is considering nuclear energy...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars, Where -- Jet Propulsion...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1548
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This partial image of the K impact represents the return of image search "jailbars" - groups of 2 lines every 80 lines. The wide gaps are filled in as more data is returned by Galileo. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Galileo
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2168
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Artist's concept of Mars Odyssey orbit insertion. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2190
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The European Space Agency's Ulysses mission logo. *Image Credit*: European Space Agency
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Ulysses
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2349
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This artist's impression shows NASA's Mercury-bound MESSENGER spacecraft from the instrument side. The instruments on the Mercury orbiter are shielded by a ceramic cloth sunshade. *Image Credit*: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mercury, What -- MESSENGER
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=177
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Two tall volcanic plumes and the rings of red material they have deposited onto surrounding surface areas appear in images taken of Jupiter's moon Io by NASA's Galileo and Cassini spacecraft in late December 2000 and early January 2001. One plume, from the volcano Pele, shoots upward nearly 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the surface near Io's equator. The plume has been active for at least four years and, until now, had been far larger than any other plume seen on Io. The images also show a...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Moon, What -- Io, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1983
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This is a close-up of the sunset on Sol 24 as seen by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder. The red sky in the background and the blue around the Sun are approximately as they would appear to the human eye. The color of the Sun itself is not correct -- the Sun was overexposed in each of the 3 color images that were used to make this picture. The true color of the Sun itself may be near white or slightly bluish. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Imager for Mars Pathfinder,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2101
